


A Day With Their Aunt

by Beleriandings



Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Gen, Lalwen is far more interesting than the Silmarils, Maglor should probably not gamble ever, Noldor take staring contests far too seriously, Semi-Crack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-19
Updated: 2014-08-19
Packaged: 2018-02-13 21:09:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2165316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beleriandings/pseuds/Beleriandings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fëanor has just finished his greatest work, the Silmarils; it's a pity his sons are far more interested in spending time with their Aunt Lalwen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Day With Their Aunt

Fëanáro carried the little wooden box reverently, staring almost mesmerised into that silver light that came from it, bursting forth from three points, blinding but not painful,  _beautiful_ … the work of his own hands, making his heart swell with the joy of creation. He must find his sons, he knew, he must show them this miracle. They must be the first to see. He heard lowered voices at the end of the corridor and upped his pace a little, still staring into the bright, precious light he held out before him.

“I’ve done it! I’ve succeeded in - ” Fëanáro stopped short in the doorway, blinking and regarding the scene in front of him curiously.

His youngest half sister and his fifth son were sitting cross-legged on the floor, facing each other, entirely motionless and staring at one another with the utmost concentration. Curufinwë’s eyes were narrowed, the tip of his tongue protruding from between his teeth as he bit down on it. His other sons were grouped around the pair in the centre, watching with rapt attention. Fëanáro stared for a long moment. Suddenly Curufinwë blinked, and Lalwendë grinned as the child let out a string of curses that demonstrated his prodigiously developed vocabulary if nothing else, Fëanáro thought ruefully.

“Three-two to me” Lalwendë said, patting Curufinwë on the shoulder in a conciliatory manner. “Better luck next time Curvo. You are getting better though. One day you’d be able to stare down Námo himself, with a piercing glare like that. Mark my words.”

“Aw come on, Auntie! Best of seven…?”

“Curvo” said Maitimo sternly. “We all agreed at the beginning, best of five, it wouldn’t be - ”

“Yes, listen to Nelyo!” Carnistir whooped. “Best of five it was, and Aunt Lalwendë won, fair and square. Pay up, Káno!” He opened his hand in front of Macalaurë, who dug in his pocket for a handful of tiny Telerin pearls, which he passed to his brother with a scowl.

“And to think I thought I would show a little family pride and bet on Curvo. Last time I make that mistake.”

Everyone ignored him. The twins squirmed and threw handfuls of corn crisps at each other. Lalwendë met Maitimo’s curious eye. “What about you, Nelyo? Do I have another challenger?”

“I wouldn’t think of it, Auntie” said Maitimo, smiling. “I - ”

“Maitimo gets his practice in staring fixedly at people with his sweet Finno” said Tyelkormo, smirking. “Except he’s not staring at his face, he’s too busy staring at his - ”

“Boys!” interjected Fëanáro. “Írimë” he said frostily, as they all whipped around and Lalwendë inclined her head at him. “See what I have made. They contain the mingled light of - ”

“Atar, look, I cleaned Macalaurë out betting on aunt Lalwendë!” said Carnistir jubilantly. “He’s also got to tidy my room for me, and - ”

“That’s not true, Atar!” protested Macalaurë. Then he grinned triumphantly. “Besides, I can’t do it today, Aunt Lalwendë said she would give me a lesson in… uhh…  _etiquette_.”

Curufinwë rolled his eyes. “What she  _said_  was that she’d teach you how to talk to girls.”

“Now, now, Curvo” said Lalwendë, “Macalaurë’s business is his own. Besides, in a few years you yourself might benefit from a lesson in how to talk to girls. Or boys, of course! Anyway, I’d be more than happy to coach you too.”

Curufinwë merely pursed his lips, disapprovingly.

At that moment the twins bounced to their feet, running at Fëanáro and nearly knocking him to the ground as they attached themselves to his legs, causing him to close the box with a snap. “Atar! Atar!” They chorused.

“What did you  _give them_?” his eyes sought his eldest son.

“We… well, they had…”

“It was only a little bit of spun sugar” said Lalwendë, “and then some of those honey cakes they like.”

“And then after that we got to make corn crisps!” squealed Ambarussa, bouncing and tugging at Fëanáro’s tunic. “And we got to watch them stare at each other so that Carnistir could win all of Macalaurë’s stuff!”

“…and it was exciting, too!” chipped in Ambarto. “Everyone in the house always stares angrily at each other, but it’s more fun to watch when Macalaurë loses by it!” he smiled sweetly as Macalaurë glowered. “And tomorrow, Aunt Lalwendë says she’ll take us into the woods, we get to go hunting with her and Tyelko, and Irissë will come along too, and me and Ambarussa - ”

Fëanáro huffed. “ _Ambarussa and I._ ”

Ambarto rolled his eyes. “ _Ambarussa and I_  get to play that game where you stand on a log over a river and hit each other with sticks until one of you falls in, except Aunt Lalwendë says we should use bulrushes instead so that we don’t hurt each other, but I want to use real sticks, because Ambarussa is so annoying sometimes - ” Ambarto dodged out of the way as Maitimo restrained Ambarussa from taking a swipe at him, and continued talking as though nothing had happened “- and then we’ll eat whatever Tyelko and Irissë catch, and meanwhile Nelyo will kiss Finno on his face and all over his body in Finno’s garden while everyone’s distracted and out of Tirion again” Ambarto made a face.

Maitimo spluttered, mumbling something unintelligible and turning scarlet, but Ambarto continued, unfazed. “…And that’s kind of yucky, but anyway, Aunt Lalwendë says she’ll teach us songs with naughty words in them and I think they’ll be  _so_  much better than Macalaurë’s songs and - ”

“ _Excuse me!_ ”

“ - and anyway, days with Aunt Lalwendë are more fun than  _anything_ we do at home with you and Amil!”

Fëanáro was frowning now. “Don’t you want to see - ”

“You made shiny things” said Ambarussa, dismissively, leaving Fëanáro and clamping himself firmly onto Lalwendë’s arm. “We saw, as you came in the door. They’re quite pretty… but you  _always_  make shiny things.”

Tyelkormo looked as though he were trying not to laugh. “It’s true, Atar, you  _do_  always make shiny things.”

“Well… yes, but these - ”

Lalwendë smiled. “Brother, he’s got a point. It’s true that you do have a propensity to  _always_  make shiny things.”


End file.
